Happy Tuesday! I’m still recovering from my car purchase weekend. Saturday morning I hit up a local dealer to test-drive the Subaru Forester XT model (the turbo engine). I had already test-drove(driven?) the regular engine a few weeks ago but somehow the idea of more horsepower excited me! I was immediately smitten with the turbo and wanted to move forward with the purchase. Only one issue. Most dealerships within an hour’s drive didn’t have the trim that I wanted. They only had the top of the line trim which was well out of my price range. My dad started to do some leg work for me and found one just over an hours’ drive from me. So after returning home from my test-drive I called that dealership to ensure it was still in inventory and then hit the road. With all the traffic I encountered on the way down, plus the time spent negotiating etc and then the return drive it was just over a 5 hour trip. But, I FINALLY closed the deal. I’ll be picking up my boy (named him Forest because I’m so unique) on Thursday. And to ensure he lasts for years to come I’m going to continue to cheer him on like Forest Gump….Run Forest(er) Run!!!

Forest

I’m going to miss Lady Liberty, my gal, my Jeep, my friend….she served me well for 11 of the 12 years at least and only became unreliable this last year.

Sunday, I woke up feeling horrible. I had a pounding headache and so I mostly just lounged on the couch letting my brain just decompress. I did manage to get a 30 minute brisk walk in the morning and another 20 minute walk with the dogs in the afternoon (I’m dogsitting Duncan’s half-sister…they share the same mister but he’s her brother from another mother). They are seriously the cutest pair!

siamese doodles

this is my morning

I really have been doing poorly in the eat healthy and exercise categories. When I’m under stress the idea of eating a vegetable just makes me ill. And so I’ve been over doing it on the comfort foods…pizza, BLT, fries, cookies, etc. And with no real training plan I’m just getting too used to couch surfing.

But I’ll be focusing on cleaning up my act in the weeks to come. I can’t sustain eating this way without some unpleasant consequences. And i’m not just talking about weight gain. Sluggishness and stomach issues are two more critical consequences.

And let’s not forget I’m running Ragnar Napa in 5 weeks! More on this in a future post. I’m excited to reveal our team name and logo with ya’ll too.

What car do you drive? Do you name your cars?
A coworker of mine told me he named his Ford Explorer Indiana Jones. =)

This weekend sure was a whirlwind after my Jeep’s breakdown Saturday. I had to cancel some plans to visit a friend who lives out of town and I went through a whole lot of emotional crap as I slowly got myself used to the idea that I might have to just stop pouring the bucks into my Jeep and look into buying or leasing something new(er). I’m sure you’ve all had some object that you’ve just grown so attached to. (humor me so I don’t feel like a dweeb). Well this Jeep is like my soulmate and she’s so symbolic of how far I’ve come since the hubby died. This was the first vehicle I bought on my own. I haggled for 4 hours at the dealership to get the price I wanted. I was so proud of myself.

And Duncan only knows this car.

Dear Jeepie: I will always love you even if I junk you or trade you in for a few cents. Love, me.

OK enough about that. I’m getting a little ridiculous now! Yesterday, since I was vehicle-less, my dear running peeps Lisa and Mike came to Staten Island and we ran 10 miles here in my ‘hood. It was hot and humid and even rained on us some. We did 9 and 1 run/walk intervals. Overall pace was 11:47 but the running intervals were more in the range of 10s which is GREAT for me as I haven’t run 10s since the injury. And this was the longest distance and my first double digit run since the injury as well. I’m gettin’ there! I returned home soaked and sore but after a shower and some foam rolling and tennis ball massaging my ankle/foot feels pretty decent.

Next week is going to be my last long run where I hope to hit 13-15. I’m STILL not decided on whether or not I’m going to run the full or the half. Frankly, as I’ve said before I’ll have to speak to someone at the EXPO and see what my options are. I’m sort shifting into the mindset of less pressure and just half it. Oh the suspense!!!!!

Don’t you just love reading blogs written by indecisive, overly sentimental running, chicks?

OK, tell me….do you have some object you are sentimentally attached to?

My Jeep Liberty just hit 100,000 miles!

A new distance PR!

So, yesterday was the Brooklyn Half Marathon that I was supposed to be running. It was a gorgeous day and I was feeling a bit sad that I had to bail due to this foot injury…my first DNS. I knew I needed to get out of the house. I decided to attend a “safe disposal” event to get rid of some old cans of paint. I know, totally exciting. It dawned on me that the event was taking place by the beach/boardwalk near my house. I was bummed that I wouldn’t be crossing the finish line of the Brooklyn Half on the boardwalk in Coney Island, but I figured I could at least take a short walk on my local boardwalk after dropping off the paint….and then I realized I should take Duncan with me because he deserved a good outing. And that’s how my plan took shape.

so pretty

Duncan may have saved someones life yesterday

just strolling down the fishing pier

That’s my favorite bridge in the background (as in “first mile of the NYC Marathon” bridge

We only walked (slowly) for a mile or so because of my foot but stopped to sit on a bench for a bit and struck up a conversation with a man named Paul who wasn’t having a good day. I ended up chatting with him for about a half hour and he spent the entire time petting Duncan. I hope I helped him a bit.

Later on in the day Duncan and I went to visit with my friend Nicole and her daughter and Duncan’s best friend Biggie.

BFFs

They were also dog sitting for a sweet big guy named Brody.

brody face!

brody frog

Duncan thought bubble: “I want to steel her Xylaphone”

Today started out in my favorite way (well, unless of course i was running a race or long run with my friends)

best sunday morning ever

After a second cup of coffee I went to Trader Joes and got all this for $56!

Healthy Trader Joes Haul

And then took the dog to Petco and spent the same amount on Duncan!

Petco purchases

Duncan thought bubble: “stop taking pictures for your silly blog”

We also took a walk in the woods. This was a dicey choice for me with my foot but I have been babying it so much i just wanted to warm my muscles and let some blood flow.

it’s getting greener by the day

Meanwhile hard to believe I took this photo in the same spot just a few months ago…

uneven surfaces including lots of protruding tree roots. maybe not such a smart idea

Some random things I’ve noticed lately:

I’ve done less laundry in the past month since probably 2012 thanks to not having running clothes to wash. I don’t mind and will enjoy it while it lasts because we all know as soon as I can get into my gear and run i’ll be filling up the laundry basket faster than you can say stinky

I’ve posted more pics of my dog than running pics in the last 3 weeks. (this post alone has 11 make that 13 photos of him.

purse pillow

just watching some tv

My Thera Wrap ice pack has been used for about 1,256,000 minutes in the month of May surpassing my frozen veggies for the win!

And I would be remiss not to end this post without sharing a very fast approaching milestone…Sweat Out the Small Stuff will be having a 1 year Blogaversary in less than a month!!! I can’t believe it =)

I’m always preaching about inner strength, sweating out the small stuff, being positive and happy, yada, yada, yada….(seriously, I just set up this link for inspirational quotes)

Well last night all that was tested…It started so nice. I had a speedy commute home from work, leashed up the dog for a casual stroll to go get my car that was parked at the bus stop from the morning. The sky was so clear that I could see so many stars including the Big and Little Dippers and O’Rien’s Belt! I felt pretty peaceful and had already poured a glass of wine that I left on the kitchen counter so when we returned I could drink up. We arrived at my car and the battery was dead. I know, I know!!! This is SMALL STUFF! I tried to keep it together but I literally cried instantly. The dog curled up on the front seat expecting we’d be driving home any minute. I could have just left the car there and walked home but honestly all I could think about was my wine and cheese and crackers. (yep I cannot tell a lie). I realized I was only two blocks from a friend so I texted him and sure enough he was home and willing to come give me a jump start. Thanks so much Alex! I owe you big!

I spent the evening obsessing over this. It wasn’t so much the battery dying but that it was only 3 months old and after researching a bunch of web forums discovered that the malfunctioning rear lift gate latch that I chose not to fix (they wanted $400) was the cause of the dead battery. There’s some weird link. I love my Jeep, but it has had it’s fare share of quirky issues.

So I had a moment and reached out to my Facebook friends to reign me in

My friends are great! Valerie suggested I buy a portable jump starter battery to keep in the car for future situations like this. And lots of other friends gave me the virtual slap across the face. All of a sudden it dawned on me that I actually own one of those portable jump starter batteries! I bought it after Superstorm Sandy when we lost power for days. It has plugs for usb devices, and regular plugs as well as the jump starter cables.

So this morning I woke up and immediately got my run in.

I was going for the Punky Brewster look!

6 mile dose of medicine

6 miles….and don’t ya know, by mile 4 I was feeling a WHOLE LOT BETTER!!! Running truly is amazing. And this song just reinforced the feel good chemicals going on in my head. Oh and while I was running my parents drove right by me. This time they actually noticed me and we waved to each other. So funny.

So I came home, showered and then whipped out that handy dandy battery and jumped the Jeep all by my very self!

up and running! woo hoo!

Then it was off to Sears to get a new one.

I had an hour to kill waiting so I popped into Starbucks for a long awaited post run meal.

My plan was to handle this situation in two separate days. Today, all I would worry about was battery replacement. I made an appointment at Jeep Service to have the rear hatch latch shmutchik thingamajiggy replaced on Tuesday =)

And so in the end I practiced what I preach. I sweat out the small stuff, and that my friends feel pretty darn good.

And in honor of Throwback Thursday here are some pics of my Lady (Jeep) Liberty from the day I brought her home and her first Christmas. Yep. She’s like a child and I can’t bear the thought of the day she goes to SUV heaven.

Question: Do you have true love for your car or is it just a way to get from A to B? How do you handle stressful “small stuff” situations?